137 Years

The borders of Gambia and nearly all African nations were drawn in Berlin 1884. No single Gambian or African was invited to attend so as to speak for us. The powers that be were solely interested in our raw materials, economic, political and cultural domination.

Our taxes were then paid to Great Britain at the expense of our people. Women and men of outstanding convictions, sacrificed blood, sweat and tears to win us independence;  which in turn was supposed to be the beginning of self-determination to pave a destiny devoid of hunger, poverty and misery. At 137 years of age, Gambia has still to produce a calibre of political leaders who are capable of transforming all that we are endowed with into sources of a decent living for all Gambians.

On 18th February 2022, a fourth president might be in office to celebrate 57 years of supposed independence. Or it could well be the incumbent which will mean a continuation of the status quo, a status quo that has until now yielded more of the same phenomenon of poverty, misery and an obvious tearing down of our social cohesion.

Will there be a new momentum for nationhood and citizenship?

Our votes in December will predetermine our trajectory of and for progress and prosperity for the years to follow.

SANYANG 15th March 2021

Yasser Arafat once said when a people are desperate, they will turn to desperate means to be free and survive. What happened in Kombo Sanyang on the above mentioned date does not surprise careful observers of the socioeconomic dynamics along the coastal line of The Gambia. It’s always a case of illegal business maneuverings against the interests of the people of a particular village or town. And through gross negligence of the government and its petite bourgeoisie functionaries, we end up having fire, death and destruction in our communities.

Faraba Banta is a case in point. The Julukeh company has had an injunction to stop sand mining in the ancestral rice fields of the villagers. The company got that injunction overturned through a dubious agreement in the offices of the then inspector general of police. When the villagers couldn’t take it anymore and demonstrated against the occupation of their land by a company in bed with the state, paramilitary forces were sent to quell the gatherings. The end result was three young lives cut short and many maimed for the rest of their lives.

Second, Ahmed Manjang on the _for the people by the people_ political Talkshow alleged a connivance between the operators of Chinese fish meal factories and rich Gambian businessmen to illegally encroach upon the gardens of the struggling women folk. A pattern of corruption and underhand deal makings are riding high shore. The next disaster could happen anytime soon. It could be today, tomorrow or the day after. Until and unless we entrust the handling of our affairs with people who have the Know-how, the sincerity and good conscience, we have to be prepared for shock and dismay every time.

The question however, should be: who and where are the leaders that will make us properly develop, maintain and sustainably utilize our seas, rivers and oceans to end poverty? One interesting name will be on the ballot papers come December 2021. Halifa Sallah of the people’s Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) has proven himself to have a mastery of the socioeconomic fabric of our country to put policies, laws and programs that will effectively end this dilemma that seems never to go away. .

POLITICAL PARTIES ABOUND

17 and counting

But do we have the same plurality in proposed economic models and ideological foundations? Unfortunately, the answer is in the negative. What’s in abundance though, is personality politics and a deluge of empty promises to better our lot through time tested and failed capitalist economic programs proposed by the United Democratic Party UDP, the People’s Progressive Party PPP, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Reconciliation APRC etc, that has bugged us down for 137 years. Think, my dear compatriots.

PDOIS is the one and only political party that has stood out of the rest with honor and distinction. The membership, supporters and followers of DOI have their work cut out for them. The pioneers have done their homework in diagnosing the ailments that has befallen us as a result of our geopolitical location, colonialism and proposed solutions rooted both in theory and praxis.

The choice for this years presidential elections and the legislative elections in 2021 cannot be clearer. But we must all be prepared to sleep in the bed we make collectively as a nation. Being a Bainunka, a Jola, a Fula, Mandinka, Wollof, etc will not spare you from sleeping on the bed we all made together. Neither will being a Baha’i, a Muslim or a Christian.

Our natural resources and tax money should build a foundation for a united, dignified and prosperous nation fit for living.

Bio:

Lamin Fatty is a member of the PDOIS Europe Branch and a student at the University of Hamburg, Germany.